The fun memories of visits to Trader vics include tiki men swizle sticks, umbrella skewered pineapple, an orchid floating and flamed dishes prepared tableside. We ordered 4 drinks and all came without decoration. We ordered the flaming steak, which was toothpick skewered beef to hold over a fuel cube in a foil cup. Kids meal ribs were as chewy and dry as beef jerky. The nice waiter comped them. A little more effort could make it so much better.

Service was marginal and rushed when they weren't busy. Salads were brought to the table with no effort to clear the appetizer plates that were finished. Within 2 mins of bringing the salads out the entrees arrived and then they clumsily tried to make room for everything. Quality of the food was poor. Beef tenderloin was very chewy and calamari was soggy. When the reservation was made it was clear we were celebrating the birthday of 2 in our party of 4. Absolutely no mention was made by the waitstaff of the birthdays nor did they attempt to make us feel welcome. We now understand why all the empty tables.

I took my girlfriend here for our anniversary, and needless to say it was a great experience! We came at 530 for Happy Hour drinks before dinner, and I must admit their Original Mai Tai's are famous for a reason; strong but flavorful (although i prefer their 1944 version which has a bit more kick as its made with orange liqueur and almond syrup rather than a premade mix). For dinner i had the drunken noodles.The mix of chicken, pork, and shrimp went well the mix of noodles, scrambled egg and bok choy. I was a bit disappointed in the amount of noodles there were compared to the whole dish; there could have been more. My girlfriend really enjoyed the Cioppino she ordered. The only downside is the price; $12 for the appetizer shrimp was a bit much considered there were only about 7 small pieces in the order. I would definitely recommend this place at least for special occasions but not something i could personally afford on a regular basis. I will definitely be back for Happy Hour again because they have a great deals on their food and drinks.

Trader Vic's has great food, friendly, prompt service and over the top island style ambiance, very tastefully done. I enjoy their flavorful food, the drunken noodles and brisket sandwich were great! They have fun, exotic drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). I will definitely be going again.

Had some out of town guests and wanted a place that showed the vibrant week night pedestrian traffic. Trader Vic's has a great location for viewing the street life while enjoying the restaurants beautiful interior. Our waiter was uber friendly and knowledgeable and the food was terrific. I was worried that the menu was not varied enough, but everything we ordered was distinctive and everyone's diverse tastes were accomodated. Looking forward to a return visit.

Trader Vics is old school dining at its best. No pretense. Wood fired oven is amazing. creative menu. great pupus and tropical drinks. The orginal mai tai is perfectly done. no need for wine at a pure tiki bar. Great fun.

Had a great table for two at the window. A big party was across the way from us but did not seem to bother us to much. We had pupus for dinner. Enjoyed most everything. Loved the Poke, very fresh. BBQ ribs had a great smoked flavor but we're a little tough for my taste. The waiter was okay but not very attentive. He seemed like he was somewhere else all night. Will be back. There were a few more things on the menu we want to try.

I love Trader Vic's. It is one of my favorites in Portland. There is no ther place like it in Portland. I think the crackers with homemade PB is so different-and good. The food is always good. And, best Mai Tai ever (1944). Always a special treat when I get to go here.

Drink menu was great, especially if you enjoy rum and tropical juices. Food was nice, my scallops were a tad undercooked, but still tasty.I made a reservation in advance and arrived 40 minutes early to enjoy the bar, it was crowded and we had to wait for a seat. Once seated at a table in the lounge we informed the cocktailer that we were waiting for our dinner table, big mistake as she assumed we were transferring our check over to our table after we elected not to close out after every drink, lets just say we were ignored compared to the other patrons.When we were seated, the table was located directly next to the micro in the middle of the dining room. Unfortunately this is my pet peeve, I dislike being seated by the micro as there is a lot of traffic. I asked to move to another table....another mistake, the hostess gave such an attitude, slamming silverware down on the new table and not even looking me in the face. I watched her as she went over to our server and pointed us out. God only knows what she said. Fortunately the server was professional and the evening ended well. He saved our dinner because it was quickly starting to go downhill fast.

Food was tasty , but might have been better off menu. Shrimp cocktail had just 1 prawn (I think only 1 oyster was served there as well), really! Salad was large and tasty. All enjoyed steaks and salmon, Very disappointed in wine pairing! All were sparkling, would have preferred variety of wines! Dessert was also nothing to rave about.

Our drinks, appetizers, and desserts were terrific -- really delicious. Unfortunately our entrees and salads were not. While not bad, they were mediocre for the price. Trader Vic's should work on correcting that. This is not the first time we have had that happen here. The ambience is so much fun. I hope they can make this part of their menu better.

Overpriced--4 bites of poke for $14! Drinks were 95% crushed ice, when we asked for a second round without ice we got drinks in teeny tiny glasses! Lighting was a harsh can light directly over our table.

The service was slow. We were crammed at some tiny table in a corner. The servers were very busy, and it took quite a while to get someone to take our order, however he was very friendly. Unfortunately the food was awful, and the drinks are 3/4 ice.

We were very excited to try our first Thanksgiving buffet at a Portland restaurant. This seemed like an amazing deal at a very nice spot I've heard good things about - mostly for their drinks. The OpenTable reservation process was easy, we got a great table, service was great, the kids enjoyed their fancy drinks, and we were very excited for the food, but.... it was a huge disappointment. Everything was tasteless, overcooked, dry, mushy or otherwise unappealing. We are not picky eaters! We love Hawaiian food! And buffets! But my husband didn't even finish his first plate and I couldn't find anything to go back for on my second trip. Specifics: their attempt at "Lua lua" (lau lau, I suppose) was dry and overcooked. Their prime rib thin and dry. I didn't even try the kalua turkey. Eggs and bacon at a buffet at 3:30 p.m.? Come on. Their three noodle dishes - Dan Dan Noodles, cold ramen and some kind of Asian noodle salad - tasteless, something you might find at a bad potluck. Stuffing a big mush pile. Their "huli huli chicken" was not even 1% in resemblance of actual huli huli chicken -- juicy meat, characterized by a nice char grill. Theirs was covered in red BBQ sauce that tasted like it came out of a bottle. The desserts were mini versions of pumpkin pie, cheesecake, etc that I've tasted better at a cafeteria or Trader Joe's. I feel like this should've-been-special experience was a total waste. I hope this is not their food on a usual basis, just a bad buffet offering. But it turned us off from having any future Thanksgiving buffets at Portland restaurants.

My family had our Thanksgiving meal at the buffet and it was excellent! The food and atmosphere was fun and energetic. I would recommend Trader Vic's to friends and family for a great dining experience! We will definitely be back! Thank you Trader Vic's!

We had a great dinner here. Food was good, lots of choices, service was very good. Most importantly we could have a conversation without shouting! Noise level was very good. Ambiance was very nice... dimmed lights with Polynesian theme decorations. You can see the fire that heats the oven from parts of the restaurant making it a very cozy place to come into on a cold, wet fall evening.

I've been here half a dozen times, and I've never had a single bad meal or drink. The place has a fun Tiki bar ambiance, the Mai Tai's are delicious, and the servers are always friendly and accommodating. My only complaint would be that the prices for entrees are a bit over-priced.

This restaurant was all around amazing; the food, atmosphere, service was great as well. We were just visiting for the weekend and our waiter just proved us right that everyone in portland is so nice. His energy great and you could tell he liked his job. The unique food selections was amazing as well, and we just got appetizers! If i come visit portland again i will 100% be visiting Trader Vic's!

I gave service a 3 due to the fact that I had told them specifically that our reservation was for my boyfriend's Birthday and if they could do something special for him that would be awesome. There was nothing special at all for his Birthday dinner. Not one single acknowledgement that it was his Birthday. I was quite disappointed in their lack of service and effort to make our dining experience special, so I would suggest this ace to frienda, but not for any kind of special occasion. Their saving grace was that out food was hot and pretty tasty.